A Brief Escape
by Soyna
Summary: The Remnants escape the lab and run for it.  They are young and desperate for freedom.  To bad they only get a small taste of it.


**A Brief Escape**

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><p><strong>By<strong>:Albedosreqium / Soyna  
><strong>Setting: <strong>Before Advent, when the Remnants were still young. Loz is 15, Yazoo is 12 and Kadaj is 10 …  
><strong>Rating, Genre and Warnings: <strong>PG, Humour and angst… some swearing and a little bit of death.  
><strong>Characters: <strong>Loz, Kadaj, and Yazoo  
><strong>Disclaimer: <strong>All related Final Fantasy names and characters are copyrighted by the almighty Square Enix©. I do not profit from this endeavour.

**Summary and Additional Information:  
>Prize for the contest that I ran that encouraged the pleasure of Reno.<br>**The Remnants escape the lab and run for it. They are young and desperate for freedom and get a small taste of it.

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><p>Kadaj's stomach groaned and protested loudly. He put his hand over it to stop the sound but it didn't do anything to stop the gurgle. He held his breath and waited for someone to hear the sound, find them … and send them back.<p>

Loz looked at him horrified and closed his eyes as he wrapped his arms tightly around them; as if he could use his body to protect them. Yazoo reached out and put his hand on his protesting belly and gave him a soft look of understanding.

They had not eaten in days. It was punishment for playing with the new lab technologist. It wasn't their fault that he was so fragile.

The three young boys were the only ones that heard Kadaj's stomach. He was grateful and leaned against Loz's chest again as his embrace relaxed. They would have to wait for the truck to stop. There were laundry-type people on the other side of the baskets that they were hiding behind. They would have to wait to _really_ escape.

As much as he wanted to let Loz kill them, Kadaj knew that he would need more time to deal with the situation. Loz would have done anything he would have asked but he had a plan to get them free and they needed to get away first.

They could come back later to kill them once they found mother.

Kadaj had been planning an escape for years. He wanted to be out by Loz's fifteenth birthday. It was all that Loz ever talked about and he wanted to make it happen not just for Loz, but for them all … and mother.

They never wanted to be punished or separated ever again. They needed to be free to find mother and they couldn't find her if they were locked away in that small lab with all those assholes in white coats that liked to poke and prod them.

How could they fulfill their purpose if they kept them in a cage?

They waited tensely behind dirty laundry baskets to finally be free of anything in the lab.

Kadaj wished he could have eaten before they left; he was restless, light-headed and over anxious. He didn't feel that strong at the moment and was counting on his brothers to protect him. Once he was strong again, he would be able to do his job, defend them and guide them to mother.

He knew that his weakness could cause problems with their breakout but he couldn't let the opportunity pass. Loz and Yazoo had to be strong enough to get them free.

They had gotten into the laundry truck, now they just needed for it to stop, so they could actually be free.

The truck stopped and they heard the voices of the people in the truck. The laundry people laughed and chatted amongst themselves and opened the truck door. The back of the truck flooded with light and they had to close their eyes so that they wouldn't be blinded. It was a trick that they had learned from the labs, of being kept in dark rooms and transferred to bright ones. If they could see, then they could have the advantage.

The door remained opened as the people moved away from the truck. He could hear the sounds of cars, birds of the night and the voices of people steadily moving away.

It was Loz that reacted before anyone else did. Loz switched his hold and Kadaj was forced to wrap his legs around his waist. Loz stood with Yazoo under his other arm and they ran … ran away from the building and the people.

Loz ran.

It was dark out; the light had been all artificial from the laundry building that they were fleeing from. He didn't realize it was night when they left the labs, but then he had been worrying about just getting out; or had they been travelling that long?

Loz ran until he could no longer breathe and was covered in sweat. Kadaj had to cling to him tighter as he felt his former iron-grip loosen around him. "You can slow down now, Loz," Kadaj said as Loz staggered and nearly dropped him. Loz gasped and stopped, nearly collapsing as he unwound his arms from them.

Kadaj let his feet touch the cold mossy ground. It was like walking on a cold wet towel.

Loz was completely worn out from the run and he breathlessly asked, "You okay?" Loz's hands were gently resting on his shoulder and Yazoo's.

"We made it," Kadaj said with a smile that was copied by Yazoo as they looked at each other.

Loz nodded and collapsed onto the damp ground as he gasped for air.

"Loz?" Yazoo whispered as he looked down at the large figure in the ground. He was covered in sweat and his feet were scratched and bruised from their frantic flee.

"I," Loz gasped a great intake of air, "got you all free."

Kadaj knelt beside Loz and wiped his forehead with his hand. "Yes, we are all free," he said kindly before his stomach rumbled again in protest. Yazoo's followed suit and he looked embarrassed that his body was reacting that way. He was frustrated that his body was being so selfish after Loz had just spent the last hour running and trying to get them to safety.

Kadaj grabbed his bigger brother's hand and looked around. He had no idea where they were. There were trees and there was a pond nearby. He could hear frogs and cars in the distance.

"Your feet are bleeding," Yazoo said lowly as his hand traced down Loz's leg. They didn't have enough time to get shoes. Plus, all the white coats feet were too big. Loz was the biggest of them, and he could have got some if they had time to steal a pair.

"Let's find a house," Kadaj suggested.

"Min-Minute," Loz panted, his chest frantically expanding as he tried to gain back his breath.

Yazoo was massaging his legs and Kadaj found himself holding Loz's hand and stroking his arm until he got his breath back.

"Which way do we go?" Yazoo said as he helped Loz sit up.

Kadaj looked around and didn't know where to go. He felt a rise of panic run though his chest. He wished he had a better plan. He let go of Loz's hand and stood to look around them.

They needed a place to eat, clean up, sleep and figure out what they were going to do next. He narrowed his eyes and opened his ears as he looked for the best option for them to travel. It was muggy out and the air seemed foggy, but he was able to see a small light in the distance. Maybe there was a house there that they could use for the night; light usually meant a building. He would be happy with a shed at the moment.

"That way." Kadaj pointed.

They helped Loz walk. He was limping and crying silently. For once, Kadaj didn't tell him to stop crying. He could cry all he wanted. Loz had the right to cry and there was only them around. They didn't have to keep what they were feeling away from those pesky lab-coats.

They could be themselves.

Kadaj focused on getting them there. Loz's blood could attract monsters and he didn't have any proper weapons to deal with them. He didn't trust himself to deal with any high level monsters at the moment. They were lucky that they didn't encounter any as they approached the light.

The house was a small cabin and looked like it was taken care of nicely. There was a light on the porch, no car in the driveway and a small barn that had chocobos. He could see the shadows of the large birds sleeping. They had not noticed them yet. That was good. They didn't want any undo attention.

Kadaj licked his lips as they looked at the house. There had to be food there. If there were line animals here that meant that people lived there. If people lived there that meant there was food.

His stomach made a demanding growl at the thought.

"What if there is someone in there?" Loz asked and wiped at his face.

Yazoo smiled and ran his hand through Loz's short hair to comfort him. "Don't worry about it, Loz. I will kill whoever is in there."

Loz pushed his lip out and gave out a small whimper. "But, I want to play too."

Kadaj silenced them. "You can play with the chocobos later."

They had to make sure there were no inhabitants. He was so hungry, he needed food and he really wanted to sleep.

Yazoo ran his hands dramatically through his hair only to have it fall back over his face as they started to walk to the front door, with Loz in between them.

They walked slowly towards the cabin, examining everything around them as they approached the lit front porch. It was a little unnerving to be in the open like that but there was no sign of people around.

Kadaj pressed his ear against the door and didn't hear anything. "Open the door," he finally said as he stepped back. Yazoo grinned, stood in front of it, lifted his foot and bashed the door in with that simple motion.

Sounds emerged from inside the house and he was ready for a fight. A dog came rushing at them and Kadaj was relieved. He easily grabbed the dog's head as it came at him with open jaws. He noted that it was large, furry and white, but it didn't matter much as he ripped open the mouth and tossed the body out onto the porch. It lay in a bleeding heap on the porch, twitching as it died.

"Aw," Loz said as he looked over at the twitching mass. "We could have played."

Yazoo grunted and pushed him forward. Why Loz liked to play with animals was beyond his understanding. If they weren't good for fighting or using as a tool in battle, they were useless creatures as far as he was concerned. The dog was obviously a weak variety if it couldn't protect a simple house.

He wiped the blood onto his thin cotton clothes and they walked cautiously inside. It was untidy, smelled of dog, and was nice and warm. It was far from the sterile, white and vacant rooms that they were used to being in.

It was great.

Loz stumbled into a chair and let out a low moan. He noted that Loz's feet were bleeding quite a bit now, so much so, that he was leaving bloody foot prints in his wake.

Yazoo noticed as well. He ran his hands through Loz's hair, gently kissing his brow. Kadaj always envied them a little bit at how close they were. They were older than he was and they didn't hold as much promise as he did; at least that was what the lab nerds were always saying.

He was made to replace Sephiroth, after all.

Kadaj's stomach growled and he put his hand over there to stop the sound.

Yazoo gave him a smirk. "We shall shower, tend Loz's wounds and then eat."

Kadaj blushed at being told what to do from Yazoo but he agreed. He couldn't eat with dog blood all over his hands and clothes despite the fact that his stomach was demanding attention. Kadaj found the bathroom which was disappointingly small. He was used to much larger washing facilities. This room was barely a broom closet. It had a sink, a toilet, a stool and a pitifully small tub with a shower ensemble.

Loz wrinkled his nose, "It smells in here."

Yazoo examined the shower. "We can't all fit in there," he said as he moved to stand inside of it. His slender figure already took up a lot of the tub space.

"It's better than being in the labs," Kadaj said to silence them. It was small, dirty and to him, it was wonderful. "Loz, sit." Kadaj directed him to a small stool beside the bath and encouraged him to place his feet into the porcelain tub.

Loz obeyed and leaned back against the counter to balance himself. Yazoo stripped off his green hospital clothing in the tub and threw them across the small room. "I hate those _clothes_," he said as he knelt in the tub and began examining Loz's feet.

Yazoo grabbed the shower nozzle and turned it on, immediately putting it against his older brother's feet. Loz cringed and whimpered. "Cold."

Kadaj ruffled his hair briefly and looked at himself in the mirror. The dog had splattered blood all over him. It was across his face, in his hair and the shirt he was wearing was starting to stick to his chest.

"Don't whine," Yazoo said from the tub as he reached for a cloth as he gently scrubbed the dirt and blood off of Loz's feet. Loz did whimper but that didn't stop Yazoo from taking care of him.

Kadaj stripped off his clothing and threw it in the corner where Yazoo had thrown his. He frowned at the bloody smears on his white skin. He would feel better when he could get the blood washed off. He walked behind Loz and began to help him out of his shirt and Loz seemed grateful for his help. He noticed that there were bruises on Loz's arms where they had been gripping on to him. He rubbed them soothingly before he stepped into the shower beside his slender brother.

The shower was small but they did eventually all fit into it. Loz complained that it was too slippery to stand up in there with his sore feet but they ignored him and held him as they cleaned themselves with soap that didn't smell like antiseptic. They used shampoo that smelled like flowers and stayed all squished under the spray until the water got cold.

He would put up being elbowed, kneed, and mashed together in the small shower but it beat being in the cold lab with some pervert staring at him from a stool in the corner.

They dried themselves with towels that were not thin and scratchy but thick and fluffy. They each wrapped one around their waists and Kadaj found himself a little out of breath.

His stomach hurt because it was so empty. The warm shower had drained away some of his strength. He leaned against Yazoo as his stomach protested again and he wanted to fold into two.

Yazoo hummed and led him into the nearest room, which happened to be a bedroom. The bed was larger than his cot had been in the labs. The sheets were mussed up and there was only one pillow on it.

Yazoo upturned his nose and tsked at the sight. They were always picky about how their bed was kept. It was the one thing that they could control over in their lives in the labs.

"I'm hungry," Kadaj said, trying to keep the whine out of his voice but he could hear it creeping in there. He didn't want to sound like Loz.

Kadaj was relieved to sit on the soft bed and Loz sat heavily beside him. He leaned against his larger frame and looked to Yazoo who was walking to the dresser drawers. Loz wrapped his arm around him as they watched their nymph like brother walk around the room.

Yazoo opened up the drawer of a dresser and frowned as he pulled out clothing. Kadaj could see the displeasure at the mundane clothing written on Yazoo's face. Kadaj didn't care as long as it was not the same type of clothing that they wore in the lab. Anything was better than the thin cotton hospital scrub type clothing. The plaid flannel that Yazoo wrinkled his nose at was better than the clothing that they had just discarded in the bathroom.

Yazoo slipped on a red and black flannel shirt and buttoned it over his small frame. It just about reached his knees and he had to roll up the sleeve. "Whoever lives here is huge!"

Kadaj smiled. It did look a little funny and strange to see him in such ill fitting clothing, but it was still amusing. He was going to ask for a shirt himself but his stomach growled and threatened to pull him towards his center again. Loz rubbed his back in comfort.

A piece of cloth was thrown over his head. It smelled funny and he didn't know if he liked it or hated it. "I'll get us something to eat now," Yazoo said as he handed a large blue flannel shirt to Loz. He noticed that Yazoo chose him one that was black and white.

Loz tilted his head. "Can we have chocobo?"

Yazoo twisted his lips up into a sneer, "Why don't we just go check the fridge first before we decide to go kill the chocobos."

Loz nodded and put on the blue shirt. He gladly put the checkered shirt on even though it felt much too large and went down to his knees. He didn't care. It was soft and very comfortable. It felt nothing like the starchy cotton that was found in the labs.

It was perfect.

Kadaj leaned against Loz and put his hand on his stomach. He really was very hungry that he would even consider eating carrots. He could hear Yazoo milling around in the kitchen. There were sounds of doors opening and closing and then a final yell of triumph.

Kadaj leaned against Loz as his arm wrapped around him.

Yazoo came in with a large smile, a small bucket and a spoon. "I found ice cream!"

Loz jumped up, forgetting that he had his arm around him and sent Kadaj plummeting to the floor. He also seemed to have forget that he had sore feet as he limped towards Yazoo, grabbing him and pulling him down on to the bed. Yazoo didn't complain about the rough treatment but held the bucket closer to his chest.

Kadaj stomach growled at the sight of the treat as he scrambled to sit beside his brothers on the bed. They only ever had ice cream once and that was an accident. It was after a work out session and instead of the electrolyte filled popsicles that tasted full of fake, the tech had given them ice cream.

It was the best tasting thing he had ever had. They made the tech give them more until some other people rescued him when they had emptied the freezer.

Yazoo had a spoon in his hand and dug into the top of the bucket and pulled out a large portion of ice cream. Kadaj's mouth watered as the spoon raised and came towards him. He opened his mouth and leaned forward to receive the treat.

Kadaj groaned as the cold food hit his mouth. It tasted so good; creamy, cold, sweet and the best thing in the world. He quickly swallowed and released the spoon from his mouth. Yazoo then scooped up some more and fed it to Loz. Loz moaned around the spoon as Yazoo slowly pulled it out of his mouth.

Kadaj wanted another. His stomach churned in protest of the sweet treat but he wanted more. He whimpered as he saw Yazoo have a spoonful, close his eyes and moan around the spoon.

"You should have brought more spoons," Loz protested.

Yazoo opened his eyes but they remained hooded. He held up his other hand and there were two more spoons.

Kadaj frowned and quickly grabbed the spoon with a scowl. His stomach gurgled and turned at the sudden addition of the cold food but it tasted so good. Loz grabbed the spoon just as quickly and they fought to get more.

They ate quickly and forcefully the delicious cold vanilla treat. It was the best thing in the whole world and they didn't have anyone there to take it away. They didn't have to worry about blood work afterwards. They didn't have to eat slow and chew their food.

They could just eat.

Loz suddenly stopped eating, brought his hand to his forehead and collapsed backwards on the bed. "Ow!" He pressed the heel of his hands into his eyes as he groaned.

Yazoo looked panicked as he looked at his older brother. Kadaj knew better though. "That's what you get for eating ice cream too quickly." Kadaj chuckled lightly as he moved over to his brother and rubbed his forehead. "Brain freeze."

Loz groaned. "Don't like ice cream anyway," Loz said as he threw his spoon across the room and pressed his hands against his forehead. Kadaj noticed that Yazoo's worried look quickly left and he was now looking amused as he continued hugging the bucket of ice cream and ate, even though it was at a slower rate.

"Why don't we go into the kitchen to find something else then," Kadaj said as he helped his bigger brother sit up in the bed. Loz had his face screwed up in a pout as he tried to get over his brain-freeze moment.

"Can you walk?" Kadaj asked as he looked at Loz's feet. They looked better now that they rested and were washed up.

Loz grimaced and shook his head but stood no problem. He seemed to be more concerned about his headache than his sore feet. They made their way to the kitchen leaving Yazoo behind who was happily eating the ice cream.

They walked through the sparse living room and into the kitchen. Loz went right to the fridge and he opened a cupboard that was over the stove looking for treats.

Kadaj was still hungry.

He didn't want anything that he would normally have back where they were going to be fed. He didn't want any granola bars, or anything that came in syrupy looking goo. He wanted the food that he saw the doctors and nurses ate.

Real food.

There were a lot of strange boxes in the cupboard and he frowned as he realized that he had no idea how to cook.

He looked over to Loz to see him chugging back a whole jug of milk. Loz made a loud gasp as he finished it off, tossed the container over his shoulder and wiped his mouth on his sleeve.

His larger brother gave him a happy smile. "They have some of that stuff in the black bottle," Loz said and handed him one. Kadaj returned the smile and grabbed it. One of the doctors had been careless and had brought one of the drinks into the lab one day. It was so sweet and tasty that he drank it nearly in one gulp.

Of course, he felt a little funny after drinking it; very anxious and full of energy, but he wanted more. He opened the bottle and drank the dark bubbly drink quickly.

It was even better than he remembered but his stomach didn't agree though. The contents of ice cream with the fizzy beverage made his stomach flip and protest.

For a moment he thought he was going to throw up and he clutched at his stomach and let out a groan. Loz gave him a concerned look and before he could ask if he was okay, Kadaj felt something rise up his throat.

He walked over to the sink, thinking he was going to puke but a large belch emerged from his throat instead.

Loz laughed heartily. "Do you want another?"

Kadaj covered his mouth, blushed and gave a smaller one. He smiled at his larger brother and said, "Hell, yeah!"

Loz threw him another one of the bottles and took one for himself as well. He didn't drink it as quickly and savoured the taste. "What else is in there?" Kadaj asked as he looked around him at the fridge. Loz moved to the side as he continued to pound back the drink and let out his own belch.

"Cheese, bread and apples. We broke into a house with a guy that doesn't keep much food," Loz grumbled, "but lots of pop."

Kadaj reached for an apple. "I like apples," he said simply and took a big bite of it. It was one of the few things that they fed him in the labs that he enjoyed. These were blue and extremely sweet. He was used to the red or green ones so he wasn't complaining.

"I want something hot," Loz grumbled as he looked around.

"Do you know how to cook?" Kadaj asked. He had always been brought trays of food and the only things that he had seen being cooked were some chemicals in some test tubes. Loz was older, maybe he would know how to cook.

Loz shrugged and opened the freezer and pulled out what looked like a piece of meat. Kadaj didn't know what type it was. "You just heat things up, right?"

Kadaj shrugged and took another bite of the apple. "I don't know. I never cooked anything before," Kadaj said as he looked around the kitchen. "I think you have to put it in a pan and put in the oven over there."

He had never used an oven before. He had watched the lab-freaks work with autoclaves and they didn't look all that difficult to use. It looked similar — somewhat — to the autoclave.

Loz scratched his head and the uncooked food in his hand. "Do I need to put it in a pan or something?"

Kadaj shrugged. "Is it fish? I have seen some of the lab people eating fish raw," Kadaj suggested even though it didn't look anything like pieces of food they had eaten.

Loz screwed up his face and frowned. "Raw fish. Gross." He looked at the bag and the oven. "Plus, I want something hot and raw fish is not hot." Loz walked to the oven and opened it up, threw the piece of meat inside and pondered all the buttons on the top.

Kadaj turned his attention back to the fridge and grabbed another apple, and searched the fridge. He grabbed a piece of cheese and stuffed it in his mouth along with chewing on another piece of the apple. There was more pop and he was going to have more of that and there were some other things that he didn't know what they were.

There was a large crashing sound that caused him to jump and the apple that he was holding fell from his hand. He turned to see that Loz had put his fist through the top of the stove and a frustrated look on his face.

Yazoo came running out of the bedroom at the sound but said nothing as they looked at the now crushed stove.

"I don't know how it works," Loz said with a pout and rubbed his hand that he had used to smash it.

"And smashing it helped?" Yazoo asked as he walked towards them. Kadaj noted that the bucket he was holding was empty now.

Loz made a pouting face and looked at his now cut hand and looked like he was going to cry. Yazoo threw the bucket into the corner and put a comforting hand on his larger brother's arm.

"I just wanted something warm to eat," Loz whimpered.

"I know," Yazoo said. "I saw some noodles in one of the cupboards. I can make those." Yazoo easily moved to one of the cupboards and pulled out a couple of square packages.

"Really?" Kadaj asked as he retrieved another apple and took a bite. It was a red one and it wasn't nearly as sweet as the blue one that he had dropped on the floor.

"I have seen them make these. All they do is put them in a bowl with some hot water, let it sit for a bit and then there are hot noodles," Yazoo said as he searched for a bowl in some nearby cupboards.

Loz smiled brightly and forgot about his sore hand as he grabbed a package that Yazoo had retrieved from the cupboard to examine it.

Kadaj finished chewing his bite of apple. "Do you know how to boil water?" He was never allowed any really hot liquids after the last time he threw his cup of tea into a young and promising doctor's face.

If he was young and promising he shouldn't have been so stupid as to give him a hot cup of tea to drink.

Yazoo put a finger to his lip and his eyes scanned the kitchen. "A kettle! I can use that," he said and walked over to it, chewed his lip as he lifted it. Kadaj continued to eat his apple as he watched his slim brother fill it up and plug it in.

"Do we put the noodles in the kettle?" Loz asked as he opened a package and was now holding a brick of noodles in his fingers and the smaller ones were crumbling to the floor.

Yazoo hummed as he pressed a button and a small red light turned on. "No. We put the noodles in a bowl."

"Wouldn't it be quicker to put it in the kettle," Loz said as he sniffed the noodles and made a face. "They smell funny."

"They will taste fine when they are cooked," Yazoo said as he took the package from his hand and put it in the bowl that he pulled out earlier. "I will make enough noodles for everyone."

Loz pouted and looked at the kettle, poking at the red light. "How long is it going to take?"

Yazoo shrugged and continued to break up the noodles into the bowl. "As long as it takes to boil."

"Have some fruit," Kadaj said and threw him an apple and Loz caught it easily and threw it into the living room.

"But I don't like apples," he said as he looked at the piece of fruit like it was the most offensive thing in the world. "Pass me some of that cheese."

Kadaj threw the block of cheese that was in the fridge at Loz and he caught it easily. Yazoo was busy looking through the cupboards to see if there was anything else that appealed to him. Kadaj went back to the fridge and found a jar that looked like it had pickles in it. He liked pickles. He opened it easily and eagerly grabbed one and stuffed it in his mouth.

He spat it out as soon as he took the bite.

Loz chuckled at him.

Yazoo tilted his head and looked at him curiously.

"They don't taste like pickles, they taste like butter," Kadaj said and reached for the half finished pop and guzzled the rest of it. He quickly put the horrible pickles aside and ignored his chuckling brothers.

He watched Loz take a bite out of the block of cheese and go back to the kettle and poke at the light. "Is this done yet?" he asked with a mouth full.

Yazoo shook his head as he stuffed some crackers into his mouth.

"But I want warm food," Loz said as he swallowed.

Kadaj rolled his eyes and grabbed another pop from the fridge and tried to figure out if there was anything else he could eat. Everything seemed to require cooking and they were already proving how bad they were at that.

"But I am hungry now," Loz whined again.

"Here," Yazoo said and promptly stuffed a cracker in Loz mouth. Loz sputtered and spat it out.

Kadaj covered his mouth but couldn't refrain from giggling.

"Don't do that!" Loz protested and wiped at his mouth.

"Then eat the cheese and wait until the kettle boils," Yazoo said as he looked at the kettle. It was starting to make gurgling sounds now and a little bit of steam was coming out of its spout.

Kadaj turned back to the fridge and tried to find something that didn't require cooking. He started to throw containers of his shoulder. "What the hell, there are like twenty different types of mustard in here!"

"Watch where you are throwing that stuff, Kadaj!" Yazoo complained. He turned back to see that he had been throwing in his direction.

Kadaj turned around, belching as he did so from the amount of pop that he had consumed. "This guy's choice of food sucks! Tomorrow, we are going to take over a restaurant and make them cook us good food!"

Loz nodded and turned his glare to the kettle. "How much longer before the kettle boils?"

Yazoo rolled his eyes.

They rummaged through the rest of the kitchen, found some bread which was brown and tasted like … well … brown bread. They found some dry cookies that had chocolate chips in them and devoured them. They found more pop and Loz discovered some beer.

The kettle finally boiled and Yazoo poured the water over the noodles. Loz tried to eat them as soon as the water was on them and Yazoo had to explain to him that they had to sit for at least ten minutes before they would get soft enough for them to taste like noodles.

Loz pouted but drank some beer.

Kadaj found some marshmallows and stuffed his face with them. They were sweet pieces of pillowy sugar. Yazoo claimed some from the bag but declared that they were too sweet for him.

"This from a guy, that ate a bucket of ice cream," Kadaj muttered but didn't complain since that meant more for him.

By the time the noodles were ready, Kadaj was starting to feel a little sick. He watched as Loz stuffed his mouth full of noodles and thanked Yazoo for cooking them for him. Yazoo had found some thin bread sticks that he was eating and let Loz eat all the noodles.

That was also the time that his stomach started to make sounds that had nothing to do with hunger. He belched again and it didn't ease the sick feel that was starting to take over him.

Yazoo stopped nibbling on his bread stick. "Are you okay, Kadaj? You look green."

"I'm fine," Kadaj whimpered but he was lying. He thought he was going to throw up and he didn't want to be sick. Sick people had to see doctors and he didn't want to see a doctor again.

His stomach started to cramp and he knew what that meant. It wasn't the hunger pains that made him fold him half before this was something else. He dashed into the bathroom and got there just in time to throw up all the food that he had eaten. He sobbed as he threw up and his whole body started shaking.

Comforting hands pressed against his neck and ran through his hair. He looked over to see Yazoo slip beside him and put his arms around his waist and Loz was stroking his back.

"Feel better?"

Kadaj shook his head. "That pickle made me sick." He was sure it was that awful tasting pickle because all the other stuff tasted so good.

Yazoo rested his head against his back and held him until he was sure he was done. Loz gave him a glass of water and he rinsed his mouth out.

"I'm done eating," Kadaj said. He doubted he could eat anything after puking his guts out. His stomach ached and he was tired. He leaned into Yazoo's embrace and whimpered.

"There are more noodles?" Loz said as he sat on the floor in front of them.

Kadaj shook his head. He really didn't want to eat anything else. He felt like he was going to puke again. He held the empty cup out to Loz who promptly filled it for him again.

"Maybe we should get some sleep," Yazoo suggested.

Kadaj nodded and slowly stood. They walked over to the bedroom. Kadaj was tired, sore and needed to clear his head. He couldn't lead them if he was fuzzy, had an upset stomach and was sleepy.

He crawled into the bed. The sheets smelled clean as he crawled under them. That was good because he didn't want to have to search for clean ones. He grabbed the only pillow and stuffed it under his head.

He watched his brothers start to tear apart the room looking for more pillows and blankets. He watched as things threw across the room as they opened drawers and looked under the bed. Loz yelled in triumph as he found another pillow and threw it at Kadaj on the bed. He laughed as he caught it and put it under his head with the other one. Yazoo found a blanket and threw it at him.

He had to fight himself out from under the blanket but he was smiling as he looked at his brothers. Loz had gone into the living room and brought in a few pillows that had been on the couch.

He threw it at Kadaj who threw it back. "That one smells like dog!" He complained. Loz shrugged but threw it to the side and started to place the pillows at the head of the bed. Yazoo crawled beside him and claimed a pillow from beneath his head.

He didn't argue as all the adjustments were made. Blankets were tugged and pulled, they jostled and pushed each other.

Kadaj didn't remember the last time that they were allowed to spend the night together and he really couldn't remember at all. He was sometimes allowed to stay with Loz when no one else could get him to stop crying or the times where Yazoo would stop talking. They were never allowed together like this.

He was nestled beside Loz who had his arm protectively around him. Yazoo was pressed against his back in a protective hug.

They never were going to be apart again.

In the morning, when he was feeling better, ate a proper breakfast, they would make a plan to get mother and have the reunion.

In the morning.

* * *

><p>He woke up to a harsh yell and the sound of crashing glass. He had just enough time to open his eyes and to see SOLDIERS and men in black suits enter the bedroom. He saw Loz crush someone's throat with his hand and Yazoo tear off the arm of a suited man. He managed to detangle himself from the blankets but he wasn't able to do any damage or attack.<p>

The room was filled with green smoke.

He should have known they would have done something so low.

All the attackers were wearing masks and he tried to hold his breath but he could feel the effects already. He stumbled off the bed and tore the mask off one of the suits and tried to fit it over his face before he was succumbed completely to the fumes.

It was too late though. He had breathed too much of the fumes and he felt the world fall around him. He couldn't see where his brothers were anymore and that scared him. He couldn't turn his head as he felt so heavy. He was looking at the bedroom door as he saw the last person in the world that he wanted to see. He knew who he was even with the mask hiding his face.

His muffled, yet familiar, voice filled the room. "Crate them up and clean up this mess."

"Yes, Professor Hojo."

He tried to say something but his voice was lost. The professor walked over to him and knelt beside him. Fingers touched his face and made him look directly into his dark eyes. "You should know better to think that you can escape me."

Kadaj closed his eyes so he didn't have to see anything else that was going on around him and most of all didn't have to look at Hojo who was going to continue to make his life miserable. He couldn't cry. He couldn't scream. He would be punished worse than he had ever been punished before. Hojo always knew how to make him hurt and he knew that he wouldn't see his brothers for months, if not ever again.

He would have to wait until he was able to free them all again. He would make sure he was stronger, faster and better next time. He would become the perfect one that he was supposed to be so that the reunion could happen.

He would make it happen one day.

A slap across his face made him gasp and he opened his eyes to see Hojo glaring at him. "Did you hear me boy?"

He didn't hear a thing and he couldn't answer. He felt his eyes tear up as he was forced to focus on his tormentor. Hojo grunted through his mask, let go of his face and left him on the floor as a SOLDIER came and picked him up.

Next time they would get free and they wouldn't be caught and brought back. Next time he would make sure that Hojo didn't stop them from the reunion. Next time he would be strong enough to lead his brothers and find mother.

Next time.

* * *

><p><strong>Poor boys...<strong>


End file.
